Metamora, Notre Dame will meet for LaSalle Sectional baseball title

PERU — Metamora and Notre Dame are the last two area baseball teams standing for the second consecutive season.

Metamora scored five times with two outs in the sixth inning in a 10-5 victory over Rock Island Alleman in the first game of a Class 3A LaSalle Sectional semifinal doubleheader Wednesday at Veterans Park. In the nightcap, Notre Dame scored twice with two outs in the fifth in a 4-3 victory over Morris.

Metamora (24-12) and Notre Dame (24-10) will play for the title at 10 a.m. Saturday. The winner advances to the Rock Island Supersectional on Monday.

“That’s a good match-up for the area,” Notre Dame coach Sean Watkins said. “These kids all know each other.”

ND senior Matt Kouri beat out an infield single to leadoff the sixth, and scored on Andy Shadid’s two-out double to deep left field.

Irish clean-up hitter Jake Hurst looped the next pitch from Morris’ Nick Evola beyond second base and off the outstretched glove of shortstop Trevor Lines. Shadid scored easily with what proved to be the winning run.

“(Evola) had been throwing first-pitch strikes and I was ready,” Hurst said.

Hurst came on to pitch in the top of the seventh in relief of ND starter Truman Ralph. He retired the first two, allowed a one-out single and ended the game with a swinging strikeout.

“I told the boys we weathered the storm,” said Watkins, ND’s first-year coach. “Within a run in the sixth, that’s where we want to be.”

Morris (28-10) got to Ralph for an unearned run in the first. The Redskins got a solo home run from Grant Schluntz in a two-run second to lead 3-0.

Ralph, a sophomore, retired the next 10 Morris batters in order.

“They got those runs and I did my best to maintain my composure,” Ralph said. “I was confident we would put some runs on the board.”

Notre Dame scored twice in the second on singles by Hurst and Jarrod Watkins, a balk by Evola and Nick Pudik’s sacrifice fly.

Ralph allowed five hits, walked three and struck out seven in six innings.

Metamora scored four in the first against Alleman and rallied to pull even at 5-5 on Drew Beenders’ RBI groundout in the fifth.

The Redbirds had six consecutive batters reach safely in the five-run sixth.